Polly Wong

Polly Wong

Polly Wong is the President of Belardi Wong, a leading direct marketing agency based in San Francisco.

Post-DTC Boom: Fashion Founders Embrace Agility and Collaboration to Thrive

As the dust settles on the direct-to-consumer (DTC) boom, a new era of fashion entrepreneurship emerges, characterized by an innovative approach to company building within a transformed industry landscape. There are many remarkable journeys of these visionary founders exploring the uncharted avenues they tread upon to achieve growth, while also seeking insights from agencies deeply entrenched…

The D-to-C Funding Landscape Has Changed. Here’s What Matters Now.

It’s been more than five years since direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) legends like Warby Parker, Away, and Everlane came of age and completely upended the retail ecosystem and forever changed the way we think about building brands. Barriers to entry collapsed. First-party data and social media forged ongoing, direct relationships between new brands and their customers. It was a heady bunch of years to be…

6 Essential Strategies to Make Your Holiday Creative Stand Out

In case you missed it, the holidays are in full swing. Media outlets have started reporting on the top toys for the season, Amazon.com is moving up Black Friday to start now (!), and the threat of supply chain snarls and shipping delays are prompting consumers to get out their credit cards early this year.…

D-to-Cs Proved Resilient in 2020. Here’s How They Can Sustain That Momentum.

We've recently passed the one-year mark for the pandemic economy, with all of its volatility, uncertainty and disruptions. Among the most emphatic takeaways is that direct to consumer (D-to-C) has proven incredibly resilient through these changes. In some sense, it seems obvious in retrospect, that brands built on the potent combination of direct distribution, online…

Amazon Misses the Mark With its Holiday Toy Catalog

Amazon.com is great at tackling new lines of business. The path from online bookseller to one of the world’s most valuable companies was forged through its entry into music, video, cloud computing, advertising and groceries. And yet for all of Amazon’s rich data, deep pockets and top-tier talent, it's making rookie mistakes in one of…

How Retailers and D-to-C Brands Can Survive the COVID-19 Crisis

There's no way around it: times are tough for retailers and direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) brands as they absorb the shock of COVID-19 on their businesses. However, the sudden upheaval is also bringing out the best from leaders in our industry, as they craft proactive strategies for survival, recovery, and future growth. To that end, we’ve put…